Pipe Rotation and Multiple Bowls per Day

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kane

Can't Leave
Dec 2, 2014
429
3
When I started smoking a pipe I was averaging about one bowl a day, usually in the evening. Soon I was averaging one bowl in the morning and one bowl in the evening. Following the idea of letting a pipe rest between bowls, I would smoke a different pipe for each bowl. Now I find myself up to 3-4 bowls a day, and I can see that going more could be nice and I imagine is common with many pipe smokers.

I know that many pipe smokers keep a seven pipe rotation, changing pipes for each day of the week. What I am wondering about is when smoking more than one bowl per day, do people smoke multiple bowls in one pipe for a day and then give the pipe a long rest, or it is really best to rotate through multiple pipes throughout the day for each individual bowl?

If people do reuse the same pipe on the same day, is there a cut-off point of maximum bowls one can smoke in the same pipe in one day?
Thank you

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,412
Florida
I smoke my cobs all day long, but I rotate them between bowls at least...I have a 7 cob rotation for a days smoking, plus a dozen plus briars I smoke. I tend to rest the briars longer..I always dump the bowl and swipe the pipe. If it's been a particularly 'wet' smoke, I'll use q tips and pipe cleaner or tissue paper to soak up moisture, which is never or seldom a problem with cobs and meers.

I haven't been keeping count, but I'd guess I smoke about 8 -10 bowls a day.

 

kane

Can't Leave
Dec 2, 2014
429
3
If you were to reload the same pipe in a day, at what point would you be hurting the pipe and/or the smoking?

 

freakiefrog

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 26, 2012
745
2
Mississippi
I will smoke the same pipe all day reloading the bowl, If I do this I won't touch that pipe again for a few days. I will also let me pipes rest for a few day after a really good cleaning.

 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
I don't think there's a strict rule. In the days of old a fellow would smoke on the same pipe day in and day out. However the pipe smokers around here have determined a well rested pipe gives a better smoke and I tend to agree. This also gives us a reason to buy more and more pipes!
Although I will reload a pipe a couple of times on the same day while I'm out and about, my preference is a well rested pipe for each bowl I smoke. I believe it makes a difference, but hey, you do what you got to do!

 

mrenglish

Lifer
Dec 25, 2010
2,220
72
Columbus, Ohio
I think the biggest issue is to let the pipe dry before being used again, as others have mentioned. If you smoke the same three times a day, everyday, it will reach a saturation point where it will negatively impact the smoking. So if you smoke a few bowls in the same pipe, give it ample time to rest and dry out.
Its also dependent on the briar. Some pipes you can smoke daily and not have an issue, others start to gurgle quickly. In my experience, I have found that lighter pipes seem to do better with multiple smokes.
You could also look into getting a Falcon. With the metal stem and interchangeable bowls, you can easily get multiple smokes and increase your rotation for not much coin.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I think the "correct" answer has to do with what you want out of your smoking. The pipe is not, to me, anything other than a tool for delivering nicotine and providing something for my hands to do when I'm working. I put two pipes in my camera bag and these are each smoked 3 or 4 times during the work day. As I said in another thread, Sunday is cleaning day so these pipes will rest until cleaned, 1 to 10 days.
For my evening pipes, which I smoke for R&R as I read I smoke almost exclusively meerschaums, there are six on my desk and I may rotate after each bowl, 3 to 4 in the evening, or stay with one throughout the evening. The meers do not rest by design and are cleaned on Sunday.
Cobs are my wood shop pipes and are abused terribly. They are also cleaned on Sunday as Sunday is my pipe cleaning day. No system of rotation for the cobs and I have had more than one go south on me. That pipe will get set aside, cleaned and then rested some more.
I have a Falcon which I love as I have 5 bowls for it. It has become somewhat of a specialty pipe in that it is the pipe of choice when I am trekking for shots and traveling as light as possible. I smoke a bowl and replace with a preloaded bowl. Again, the bowls and all of my pipes, smoked or not, are cleaned on Sunday.

 

frank13

Can't Leave
Oct 5, 2014
410
2
Bakersfield, CA
I use one pipe per day, and smoke 5-7 bowls a day. If it starts to taste icky, I'll dump the dottle, run a pipe cleaner through it, and load it up again. Doesn't seem to hurt anything. I rotate to a new pipe each day. Some people are very meticulous about the cleaning and rotation, but I find it to really be a huge pain in the ass, so I don't worry about it too much.

 

hierophant

Lifer
Jul 27, 2014
1,852
2
I think a lot of the reason people do 'pipe rotations' is so they have an excuse to buy more pipes. "Honey, I CAN'T use that pipe, I already used it once this month, it has to rest...so that's why I have to buy this new one here..."
A clean pipe definitely tastes better/smokes better, so if you're using a pipe more than once a day, keep up with the cleaning on it but aside from that I wouldn't worry too much. We over think a lot of this stuff, but that's the nature of any hobby.

 

peteguy

Lifer
Jan 19, 2012
1,530
906
I just finished smoking a pipe last night for the 5th day in a row. Same pipe every night for 5 days straight. My pipe didn't explode and the sun came up this morning. 5th bowl tasted just as good as the first bowl. One bowl each night. I will rest it when the urge strikes me to grab another. :)

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
If you are smoking only one bowl in the evening, the pipe is, for all intents and purposes, getting a day's rest between smokes. I smoke one briar, 6 to 10 bowls, and rest it at least a few days. My meers of course are a different animal when it comes to the need for a dry out.
I only smoke meers in the house, on the weekends one or two of them will do yeoman's duty, 4 or five bowls a day two or three days running.

 

waxmojo

Might Stick Around
Aug 21, 2013
66
3
The pipe will tell you when you reach the point of hurting the smoke. A clean, dry, well rested pipe will give a better tasting smoke but if you can't give it a few days off, work with what you have and keep it as clean as you can.

 

wilson

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 17, 2013
719
1
This topic comes up from time to time. It seems that there is a group who smoke multiple bowls and then rest the pipe, and a group who smoke one bowl and then rest. Both seem to get good results, so it seems that both are OK.
Rest is really about moisture and drying. My uneducated guess is that what you want to avoid is a pipe that is wet all the time. Wet today, tomorrow, the next day . . . Even if you clean pretty well in between, constant moisture is not good and the pipe needs to dry out.
I mostly smoke one bowl and then change. But, when travelling, I usually don't bring a lot of pipes and smoke multiple bowls, and it seems to do no real harm. The collective wisdom seems to be that it doesn't matter a lot. If it is more convenient for you to use one pipe all day, then let it rest, it should be fine.

 
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